Archive for » December, 2012 «

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably haven’t heard me shut up about sketchnotes. Essentially they are a method of note-taking in which you draw images or diagrams rather than just write pure text. Sketchnotes are perfect for visual thinkers and have really become popular over the past few years.

I got into sketchnotes just this past year. It was a way for me to retain the information I watched on video game tutorials. It was also a creative way for me to share my notes with my arena partners in a way that wouldn’t bore them to death. I’ve never been much of an artist (think stick figures) and had never considered my sketchnotes to be art. Little did I know that I had some hidden talent! I received such positive feedback about my sketchnotes that it fueled me to continue to do more. In addition to the video game tutorials I started with, I began summarizing chapters of books and motivational talks.

Soon after, I was asked to do infographics and other hand-drawn designs. Who’d of thought I’d ever get paid to draw stick figures? Being an entrepreneur, naturally I turned this into a business and called it In A Nutshell Studio. So far it’s been keeping me busy! And I have some even more exciting news!

If you’ve heard of sketchnotes before you may be familiar with Mike Rohde. He is one particular Sketchnoter that I often look to for inspiration. He’s considered a pioneer and even coined the term “Sketchnotes.” Mike is the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller, REWORK by 37signals, The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau and The Little Book of Talent by New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle.

I was aware that Mike Rohde was in the process of creating a complete guide to sketchnotes titled The Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide To Visual Note Taking back in September. Naturally I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I randomly decided to send him a tweet to see how it was going. I didn’t think much of it and certainly wasn’t expecting a response.

Within seconds Mike had personally messaged me with outstanding news! He actually wanted to use one of my pieces in his upcoming book! I was beyond excited. I was completely elated and in disbelief. I mean, the Father of Sketchnotes actually recognized my work and wants to do what?!

Now fast-forward to today. My copy of the book finally arrived! *does happy dance* My husband and I are featured in Chapter 5, (below, right side), where Mike talks about the Modular styles. I can’t even begin to express what an honor it is to be among talented sketchnoters!

This fully illustrated handbook guides a newbie through the entire sketchnoting process so that they can do sketchnotes themselves. Mike stresses that, like me, you don’t have to be a great artist to do sketchnotes. The points are supplemented with fun illustrations and then summarized in a Recap section at the end of each chapter. The book also features pieces from other sketchnoters, so you can see different styles and methods.

You can learn more about the book and buy it here. Mike Rohde has been generous enough to offer 35% off anything (print, PDF, DVD). Use this code: SKETCHNOTE It’s good through the end of the year (12/31).

I wanted to thank my readers and clients for being my personal cheerleaders. I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that I’d ever put my ability to weed through information and capture the most important points to good use!

My blog turned one in October! At the time, I didn’t think it was a big deal but this blog was such a big part of my life this year. And such a therapeutic outlet for me. For my belated blogiversary and as a way of thanking my readers, I wanted to celebrate with a few giveaways.

Brews Up Words On A Bottle T-Shirt I designed
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One-page illustration about you, designed by me.
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World of Warcraft Cinder Kitten Pet
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$10 J!NX Gift Certificate

Giveaway #1:

Brews Up Tshirt I designed ($24.99 value)

GIVEAWAY #2:

One-page illustration about you, designed by me. ($150 value)

GIVEAWAY #3:

World of Warcraft Cinder Kitten Pet ($10 value, North American accounts only)